Verb Tenses

The most important stylistic technique of "The Pursuer" is its unique use of past, present, and future verb tenses to narrate the story. Bruno does not follow any commonly accepted standard of dramatic unity or narrative structure and insists on using awkward verb structures. He most frequently uses the present perfect verb tense, a verb form that is usually used to discuss events that happened at an uncertain point between the past and present. "Dédée has called," "I have gone," and "We have recognized," are examples of the present perfect tense translated literally from the opening paragraphs of the story, and they suggest how the persistent use of this verb tense challenges the distinction between past and present.

It is vital to recognize the distinction between the literal Spanish version of the verb usage in "The Pursuer" and the version presented by the...